Never

The death of the innocent heart brings the end of the false rule, and the crown denies its bearer.

Never

I took a quick look around the room and determined that winning this battle wasn't going to be easy. The edge of the room was occupied by a line of vampires on both sides, but for now, they did not attack. The rising Fifth King sat on his throne. He propped his chin with one hand as he stared at me with his bright eyes. To my surprise, he didn't seem angry or at least hostile.

"Welcome, son," he said in a surprisingly calm and almost kind voice, "I've been waiting for you."

He slowly got up from his throne and did something I never expected: he smiled. He stepped closer to me. However, when I lunged towards him to tear out his cursed heart, the vampires who had been standing still like statues immediately launched an attack.

Even though most of my attention was on the Fifth King, I easily dodged the first attack caught the vampire's hand, and threw him towards the approaching enemies. I pierced the belly of the next vampire with my hand, and as I tore my fingers from the flesh, I caught the head of another assailant who was trying to taste me. What bothered me the most was the satisfaction in the Fifth King's eyes as I slaughtered his soldiers.

"Enough," he ordered suddenly, and my attackers immediately froze at his words.

The Fifth King walked even closer with softly tapping footsteps. I was now within arm's reach of him.

"I came for my friends," I declared.

To my astonishment, the aspiring king merely nodded. "We'll get to that later."

To be honest, I really didn't expect that.

"I was watching you during the battle," the Fifth said softly. "I don't know if anyone has ever told you something like this, but I'm proud of you."

I think I involuntarily opened my mouth in sock, but the man just smiled softly at that too. There was no dislike or hatred in his eyes, and I had no idea what to make of it.

"You are fast as fae, yet strong as a vampire," continued the Fifth King. "In addition, in such a short time you have gathered an army rivaling mine. I am pleased."

I had no idea how to react. Here stands the Fifth King, whose army I destroyed, killing his henchmen in heaps, and he says he is satisfied. The ruler chuckled at the silly expression I must have made.

"I'm not angry at all," he continued. "I can easily replace an army of vampires, the important thing is that you came to me."

He touched my shoulder, and for some reason, I didn't feel his touch was bothering me.

"I would like to apologize," I think my brain cells got into a completely vegetative state at this point, "If I had known that you had survived, believe me, I would not have left you among humans for a single day."

He uttered that one word with such elemental hatred that I felt the hairs on my hands stand up. At the same time, for some reason, what he said made my chest tighten a little. I found this both unpleasant and yet pleasant.

"Was that your goal?" I asked incredulously. "Just me to come to you?"

The rising king nodded slowly.

"I want you to join me, at all costs," as he could see the reluctance in my eyes, he quickly added, "First, just listen to what I have to say, then maybe you will see things differently."

I didn't answer, so he continued.

"I fight for the sole goal of monsters finally living in peace and happiness," he spread his hands, "I want to create a world where no monsters have to fear humans. A world where they can't torture us, they can't hunt us down, they can't kill our friends and we don't have to hide from them."

The hall resounded with the king's words, which echoed in my heart. I could see in his eyes that he knew what he was talking about. He knows what it feels like to be tortured and hunted, he knows what it feels like to hide for a long time. As well as I knew it. And the sympathy shining in his eyes was perhaps for me and a little for himself.

"I need you, Shaytan, to achieve this goal," he continued. "I know that you are no stranger to the cruelty of humans. Tell me, will you support me in the fight?"

It was as if he just hypnotized me with his eyes as if he saw deep into my soul. Into the darkest depths, where I keep the memories I would most like to forget. I remained silent for a moment. The monster in me purred and drank in the man's words, because he knew, knew the hunters better than anyone. He knew the harsh cruelty with which they execute monsters, the harsh cruelty with which they also treated me. The monster inside of me thirsted for revenge for all the suffering they had caused me, and I saw the same monster in his eyes.

This is not how I imagined the Fifth King at all. His purpose was familiar to me, inviting and tempting. After all, we shouldn't have to hide anymore, we shouldn't have to live in fear and conform to the hunters' rules anymore. I really wanted to agree for one very terrible moment.

"If you join me, I'll give you back the vampire girl," he offered.

As a result of his words, two other vampires entered on either side of the room, dragging two cages behind them. Coffee herself was lying passed out, she must have struggled a lot before being forced into her cage. Jo on the other side... I froze, I just couldn't stand listening to Jo crying and whimpering. Her eyes widened when she saw me and she immediately called my name.

"Let them go!" I demanded.

The Fifth King repeated his offer. My hands clenched into fists and shook.

"And the human girl?" I asked.

The Fifth shook his head. "You have to cut your ties to humans. They just make you weak."

No, no, no and no! I clenched my jaw so hard that my teeth gritted. The half-blood king must have seen something in me at that moment that convinced him that I would not yield to his demand. He sighed deeply, like a tired parent who no longer has the strength to argue with his rebellious teenage child.

"Anyway," the half-blood king continued, "thanks to her, you're finally where you belong. And as a token of my gratitude, I have an offer. I know you don't have vampire poison, so I'd be happy to turn this girl into a vampire for you myself."

I was shocked. And for a moment I found this offer quite tempting. If Jo turned into a vampire... I wouldn't have to stay away from her anymore. In a world, where monsters can live freely, in a world where Jo is not human... we could be happy.

I think I'd stay human.

I pursed my lips. I was fully aware that whatever I wanted, this was not my decision.

"I want to talk to her first," I stated, and the king nodded slowly.

Honestly, I was surprised again. I didn't think he would give in so easily.

"Kain," said the king. "Let the girl out."

And indeed the next moment the lock clicked and the door creaked open. The vampire roughly grabbed Jo's hand and pulled her out of her cage. I took a hesitant step forward, but the half-blood ruler stopped me.

"A noble prince doesn't just run to humans," he instructed and motioned to the vampire boy. "Kain, bring the girl here."

When the vampire boy smiled, my whole being shuddered. At that moment, I saw the reflection of the monster that lay dormant deep within me. There was no one else who knew the monster better, so I yanked my hand out of the half-blood's grip.

In an instant, I covered the distance that separated me from the vampire boy and raised my hand to strike. The vampire boy bored his blood-red irises into my eyes and his grin widened. There is no more dangerous vampire than one who has surrendered to the monster within — and this boy has nothing but madness in his eyes.

I rushed into his attack. With a single punch, he was able to make me fly to the other end of the room. I realized from that one attack that he was stronger than any vampire I had ever fought. I picked myself up from the ground and wiped away the streak of blood that slowly started from my mouth to the line of my chin.

Des appeared out of nowhere and attacked the vampire boy standing next to Coffee's cage. If the kid's reflexes weren't so good, he could have lost one of his arms.

The vampire boy laughed contentedly and pulled Jo closer to him.

"Guards," he almost breathed the words on her lips.

The rest of the guards immediately attacked me.

"Kain!" shouted the half-blood king, "Guards, on your knees!"

However, the vampires did not listen to the words of their creator. Kain laughed.

I brutally smashed the head of the first vampire into the wall. I dodged the next punch as another sank its fangs into my shoulder from behind.

"What a shame, my Liege," Kain said and stroked Jo's cheek with his lips. "You'd spare this human's life for the sake of my brother?"

"Kain," growled the half-blood king.

"But this human is already mine," Kain continued and looked with pleasure at Jo's face distorted by fear, his fingers enjoyed the warmth of the human girl's skin, and his ears were filled with the pounding of Jo's heartbeat. "I worked a lot to get her."

I cut the vampire's head off his neck as he was about to attack again. His body fell to the ground and his head rolled far away. I grabbed onto the beast feasting on my blood and knocked it to the ground — it tore a large chunk out of me. I crushed his skull with a few punches, ripped out the next vampire's throat, and then threw it at my other attacker, disorienting him. A single moment of hesitation was enough to knock him to the ground and crush his beating heart in his chest.

At first, I still managed to parry the attacks of so many vampires, but the maddened blows showed no logic and the horde of vampires slowly overpowered me. They dug their claws into my flesh, their fangs dug into me and never let go. Snow-white pain flooded my consciousness, my nose was filled with the aromatic scent of my own blood. I no longer felt the familiar tingle of healing. My vision was blurry, I felt that I was close to fainting, but my consciousness did not yield to the darkness. Kain's maniacal laughter resounded in the air.

"Any last words?" he asked and I thought I was done for.

If only it would have been so. Those words were not addressed to me at all.

Jo's whole body was shaking, her emerald eyes looking straight at me with fear. Kain's fingers rested on her neck and face. I tried to move, I tried to summon every last shred of strength from my cells, but my body didn't respond.

Cold tears ran down Jo's face. Then she spoke. I saw her mouth move, but I couldn't hear what she said — the roar of my desperate thoughts drowned out all other sounds.

The world froze for a moment, movement slowed, and all sounds died — except for one. Kain opened his mouth wide, his fangs popped out. I heard that horrible, wet sound as he sank his fangs into Jo's neck. Then all I heard was a scream, a blood-curdling scream. It was only a moment later that I realized it was me who was screaming. Then everything went dark.

(...)

Alex immediately ran over to Coffee's cage as the vampire guarding it began to fight Des. His hands were shaking, making it even more difficult to unlock the cage without sound. He flinched as the lock gave way softly. No one in the room seemed to notice. He opened the cage and quickly pulled the vampire girl out and slung her over his shoulder — so they were both hidden.

Then, in that cursed moment, the world turned upside down and something happened that should never have happened. Alex froze and collapsed: his knees could no longer support his weight and the unfocused bitterness that fell on his shoulders. Tears welled up in his eyes and he must have wanted to scream. He was no longer able to maintain the magic, his form was no longer hidden by anything. All eyes flashed on him almost simultaneously.

The vampire boy turned as if to run away. Des swung his sword at him, but instead of a perfect strike to the neck, the cold steel hit the boy's back. Des hissed.

The vampire boy ran so fast, yet he was only able to catch Jo's body falling into the dust.

"Human girl," he moaned pathetically. "Human girl... no..."

Ábel saw Jo open her mouth and then close it again as if she wanted to say something to him. As a result, the blood flowed even faster from the wound on her neck. Ábel smoothed his hand over the wound as if he wanted to keep the remaining blood in the girl's body. The boy's face was contorted with great bitterness.

"Do not die!" he muttered. "Human girl, I'm begging... Johanna... don't die!"

Jo raised a trembling hand and clutched at her necklace. She yanked it with the last of her strength and locked Ábel's free hand with her own. Then her heart stopped beating.

A sad tear started to fall down the boy's cheek. The vampire boy's eyes narrowed for a moment as if he couldn't understand why his face was wet. He hesitantly touched his cheek and when he raised his hand to his eyes, his fingers were wet with a mixture of tears and blood.

The boy's face twisted into a grimace, his body shaking with helpless pain. The first sorrowful teardrop was followed by many more. Ábel sobbed, but not a single tear fell from his left eye. He hugged the broken body of the only one who was ever kind to him.

Kain laughed and licked his bloody lips. He watched his brother's suffering with satisfaction and even raised his leg to kick. He mercilessly tried to dig the shoe into the boy's shoulder. His eyes widened slightly when Ábel grabbed his leg. The vampire boy only looked up at Kain after that. Dark flames of hatred and anger burned in his eyes. Kain's grin widened.

Rolo stood in the doorway unable to move.

Des' sword almost smoldered, his movements fast, wild, and unpredictable, yet he couldn't keep up with so many monsters — they attacked too much in unison. Then suddenly he noticed a dark flash at the edge of his field of vision and instinctively moved away. The monsters were sprayed with some kind of clear liquid and the next moment he heard a clicking sound and the vampires ignited. He glanced down at the boy, who was staring hatefully at the monsters.

"Didn't we tell you to wait down there?!" Alex snapped at the kid. "This is dangerous!"

"I am more aware of the fact than you think!" retorted Rolo.

The flames eventually died down after burning off the lighter fluid, but they left many beautiful burns on the enemy. The fury of the beasts was about to strike, but before they were about to attack, they froze. Neither the hunter nor the wolf moved. Rolo didn't seem to understand anything, although he must have felt it too. He was suddenly seized by the instinct to flee, yet paralyzed by the icy fear that crept up his spine.

"He's back," Des declared quieter than a whisper, "Don't move! It destroys everything around it that lives and moves!"

The monster slowly rose from the floor. His hair faded in an instant, the illusion that had turned it black until now was gone. Kain kicked away his brother who was hugging the girl's corpse and looked defiantly at the awakened monster. The half-blood king suddenly jumped in front of the monster and spread his arms as if he wanted to stop him from heading toward Kain.

"My son," he said suddenly, then made a deep cut on his wrist with his claws.

His blood splashed loudly on the floor, the wound was really deep, yet the king showed no signs of pain. There was only doubt and fear on his face.

"Blood for blood! Forgive this child's foolishness!"

The monster raised his head and glanced at the Fifth, though most of his face was obscured by his hair.

He slowly walked toward the man, and Alex also took a step forward — he wanted to stop him. He was about to open his mouth to speak, but Des stopped him.

"Keep quiet and don't move!" he hissed.

The monster meanwhile reached the platform where the throne was located and stepped onto it. The Fifth offered him his hand, the drops of his blood shattering on the floor with a loud thud.

The monster also raised his hand, but in the next moment, something happened that no one except the hunter could have expected. The monster pierced the king's stomach with a quick and merciless movement. The king's eyes widened, and he slowly looked down to face the cause of the pain there.

The monster pulled out his hand and let the aspiring monarch fall to its knees before him. For a moment no one moved, the monster raised its head and glanced at the ceiling as if searching for something there.

The king just knelt for a moment holding his stomach. Leaving Des alone, the guards headed back towards the monster. This time, however, the awakened monster easily dodged their attacks. He simply bent over, crouched down, or tilted his head to the side. It was as if he was anticipating his opponent's moves.

Then, when he had had enough of playing, he grabbed one of the vampires by the throat. He gripped it so hard that his claws dug into the bloodsucker's skin. He snapped his neck in an instant. After that, he easily avoided the claws that swung at him and slammed his next victim to the ground with such force that the marble floor cracked.

He flexed his fingers once or twice, then disappeared from everyone's sight for a moment, only to appear further away the next moment. So many thumps were heard around him: the vampires fell to the ground almost simultaneously. And the monster now held Kain's life in his hands.

He did not let go of the beast's head, even when the vampire was already screaming in excruciating pain. He simply crushed his skull. When all the life left the vampire boy's body, he simply let his body fall to the ground.

For a moment, everything was silent and frozen around the monster. The air was filled with the smell of blood and corpses, so many lifeless bodies lay around him. Yet the monster seemed almost peaceful as it halted and raised his face to the sky. It was like he was looking behind the ceiling and looking for something really special in the clouds.

"What..." started Rolo. "What happened to him?!"

"He's out of his mind, he's lost control," declared Des. "He kills on instinct, everything and everyone around him."

Des pursed his lips into a single line and gripped the hilt of his sword with such force that blood spurted from his palm. "I have to kill him."

"Wait!" said Alex quickly. "Give me a minute!"

"Are you crazy?!" filtered Des between his teeth. "Don't you see what happened? We'll all die!"

"If I don't manage to bring him back and he's done with me, you can do what you want," the wolf said with bitter rage. "But I'm not watching another friend of mine get murdered!"

Despite the hunter's commanding whisper, Alex started to walk, drawing the monster's attention almost immediately. He approached slowly and got rid of his daggers halfway.

"Is he seriously crazy?!" Des raged, and he was about to follow the wolf.

Rolo grabbed his shirt. Des glanced down at him. With a single look, the kid also asked the hunter to wait.

Alex walked up to the monster and hugged him, avoiding his fist. The monster raised his hand, and at that moment everyone thought he was going to pierce the wolf's chest with it. However, his hand stopped at the last moment, trembled, and instead of hurting him, simply grabbed onto the wolf's shirt. And the ferocious beast sank into a long, dreamless sleep deep in my chest again.

Then everything went dark. The darkness surrounded me, embraced me, and lulled me into a sweet sleep. There was no such thing as sadness or bitterness in this dream, I no longer had to fear pain. Nothing existed here. There was no matter here, no smells, no tastes and no body.

I knew only one thing: darkness. I was relieved. I have never felt so light. I didn't have to think anymore, and I was happy to finally be free of that burden. I wanted nothing more than to float forever in this benevolent darkness.

I don't know how much time I spent in this dream when suddenly I noticed a scent. The smell of home. An inviting scent that, although I knew it, I couldn't tell who it belonged to. I only knew one thing: I wanted to follow that nostalgic scent.

I had to blink a few times to regain my vision. Alex's hair tickled my neck. I sniffed the air. Why does Alex smell like home?

The wolf was shaking uncontrollably.

"Come back..." he begged.

I've never heard him so desperate.

"I'm here," I said.

He suddenly pulled away and looked into my eyes. I thought he was going to cry. Then he held me close again.

The army of hunters flooded the great hall. We didn't move. Alex clung to me, silent sobs shaking his body. I felt like every drop of air was forced out of my lungs and my neck was being squeezed by an iron fist. My heart shrunk into a tiny ball deep in my chest, and even though my wounds were almost healed by now, I still felt indescribable pain. Jo is dead. There's no more. I lost.

A monster never cries. I still felt the tiny pinpricks in my eyes that appeared before the tears. A monster never cries. A monster never cries. A monster never cries... — I repeated to myself and my tears fell.